Help with the front of my soon to be new house please!
woodenzoo
4 years ago
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Help me pick a new landscape design for the front of my house
Comments (11)Thanks for the additional photos, Michael. I am assuming that you haven't a huge amount of gardening experience, so I'll apologize in advance if I am telling you things that you already know. My personal preference overall would be to plant the entire area out to the concrete walkway and widen the bed around the corner wider as well, for at least part of the distance down the side. That might a good place for the hydrangeas. I would also use shrubs along with perennials (and a few annuals if you want extra color or to fill in until the perennials and shrubs get bigger) to get some variety similar to what you have now. About your current beds: I notice black plastic(?) or landscape fabric in your bed under the mulch unless you have pulled it out since the photos were taken. As someone who made that mistake earlier in my gardening years and also inherited it from the previous resident of my current house, I don't think that you want to continue that as it will interfere with how the soil "lives." It will restrict water and oxygen exchange and cause all kinds of problems down the road when it starts to decompose and when the plants start growing roots into it. If you want more info or opinions, go to the one of the following forums and put "landscape fabric" into the search at the bottom of the thread listings: landscape design, perennials, and perhaps shrubs. Your bark or wood chip mulch is great, since it will help keep moisture levels even and suppress weeds. If you want something under it to further help prevent weed growth, corrugated cardboard or multiple layers of newspaper work well to suppress weeds without the problems caused by landscape fabric. I generally put down cardboard or newspaper and then at least 3 inches of mulch on top of that in all my shrub and perennial beds. What you can plant will depend on how much organic matter you are able and willing to put into your sandy soil. Gardenweed has given you a fine list of plants that in general do well in drier situations, though a few (lLobelia cardinalis/cardinal flower, Delphinium, peonies, Campanula/bellflower and Siberian iris) will do better in somewhat richer, less dry soil. If you have access to lots of organic matter through a town composting program, a nearby farm with composted manure, lots of old leaves, or some similar source, or if you have the money to buy a large quantity of compost, then dig in more than you think is needed into the first several inches up to a foot of the bed and you will have a wider range of plants to choose from. Tree oracle suggested conifers (good for winter interest so there aren't just dead sticks there) and roses, specifically Knockouts, which are long-blooming, disease resistant, and not fussy at all from everything I've read (no personal experience.) I grow the following roses: John Davis (large bush or short climber), Lady Elsie Banks, a white double rugosa, Rosa mundi, and a no ID that is common at old farmhouses here. I don't fuss with any of them other than to knock Japanese beetles into a can of soapy water while I wander through the garden early morning before work, though many are once-bloomers that are finished before the beetles emerge. No disease problems on any of them. Some other plants that will like or tolerate a relatively dry bed beyond Gardenweed's list include Nepeta/catmint, creeping thyme, alchillea/yarrow, calluna/heather (though not right next to the concrete foundation since it likes acidity) which is actually a short fine-textured shrub that can have colorful foliage, lavender, penstemon, Thermopsis caroliniana/carolina lupine (though not a lupine - similar to Baptisia), many of the veronica, hemerocallis/daylily. Most of these won't mind a bed with better soil also. Some plants that need somewhat better soil include perennial geraniums, dianthus/pinks (which aren't all pink in color), crocosmia, Iberis sempervirens/candytuft, tall phlox (get a mildew resistant type), Thalictrum rochebrunianum/lavender mist meadow rue. I can see a clematis on an obelisk looking great here, maybe behind the shrub on the corner where it will get some of the extra moisture from the downspout, but not be in its path. I also really value spring bulbs for early color and have found that if I plant them at the deepest end of the recommendation they seem to need dividing less often. I have daffodils that are probably 10 years old and haven't needed dividing yet - they still bloom prolifically. Just plant them where perennial foliage will hide the withering daff foliage. I also have reticulated iris (bought from Brent and Becky's bulbs on the web since they aren't common locally) which are budded up at the base of my foundation now and will be done blooming by mid-April before the daffs even start. I love seeing flowers in March! Both these don't mid dry summer soil at all. A couple of non-evergreen shrubs that will be fine in average soil include weigela (several shorter varieties with colored or variegated leaves) and spirea. Your neighbor's rhododendrons seem to be doing okay, and there are some shorter varieties such as PJM 'Checkmate' that hasn't cleared 3 feet in my garden. Conifers such as junipers ( get a short variety), birdsnest spruce, or one of the short varieties of Chamaecyparis would probably do well here or even one of the miniature Colorado blue spruce/Picea pungens. To get specific suggestions of types, try the conifer forum, the rhododendron forum, or the shrub forum. I often go to nearby nurseries to see what they have, read labels, take copious notes, go home and do internet research, and then go buy based on what is available that fits my needs. Some general things to consider in planning your bed. -Think about a way to have your hose holder be a bit less visible; either paint it to match the siding or move it out of sight behind a shrub or around the corner. Right now its contrasting color makes it grab attention. -Do your soil prep before you bring home plants. In general, the better your soil, the better the garden will be and the easier to care for. That extra organic matter will help hold moisture and nutrients rather than letting them trickle on through the soil. Add enough and the hydrangeas might even be happy here. -Plant things near the downspout that won't mind a bit of extra moisture, and maybe put several rocks right in front of the concrete catcher to break the water's force before it gets to the garden. -Think about leaf shape, size, color, and texture. There won't always be lots of perennials blooming, so foliage that offers variety and interest will keep things looking nice even when there aren't lots of flowers. -Plant lower things below the windows unless you want them blocked. I have used annual vines (scarlet runner beans) on strings over western windows to help keep the house cooler, but generally don't like to spend time trying to keep the plants away from the windows, so plant things with lower height there. -Most gardens look better with not just one of this and one of that - have some repetition, whether it is of foliage color, specific plant, flower color, though I have seen gardens that are an absolute riot of variety that still look lovely. Your current garden with the two hydrangeas and the several lobelia (?) have variety of height and foliage texture, but related flower color and more than one of each specific plant. - Look for gardens you like in your neighborhood or as you walk and drive around. Look now as well as during gardening season so that you can decide about what you want your garden to look like in winter. Often gardeners will be more than happy to ID plants for you if they are outside and you can get a sense of what you like. Your local library may have books that talk about garden design or have lots of eye candy (my favorite!) to look at now. One good one (but not huge amounts of eye candy) is The Well-Designed Mixed Garden by Tracy DiSabato-Aust. Have fun and let us know how it goes....See MorePlease help with my new kitchen plan! Building soon.
Comments (31)We're a family of four (and often 5, 6, 7, or more, depending on how many friends & family are visiting!) My children are just-turned 15 and 16. Our evenings go like this: Someone is emptying the DW and clearing out breakfast and after-school snack dishes (and lunch dishes if there's no school that day). Two or three others are prepping and/or cooking. Yet another person is setting the table (going from dish storage to DR). Meanwhile we have a dog underfoot (just waiting for someone to drop something!) We do not have an island as our kitchen isn't wide enough for one (started out 11'1" deep, now 10'6" deep or so b/c we had to "build-in" a wall to accommodate venting in a wall that didn't have enough room b/w the studs to fit the ductwork and to hide most of the waste pipe from an upstairs bathroom). Instead, we have a wide "U" with two short peninsula legs and a row across from the "U" with a corner pantry off to the side. Not only does it work wonderfully well for us, but it also worked great when I had sixteen 12- and 13-years old girls working on their Girl Scout Cooking badge in my kitchen (twice)! We no longer have seating in the kitchen-proper, but we do have 2 stools at one peninsula. We opened up the wall b/w the DR and kitchen and now use our DR for all our meals. Not only is the DR now being used year-round (instead of just at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas), but it also has given us a bit of "formality" to our meals and my children's manners improved quite a bit! (Plus there's more room around the table and it's nice to eat away from the dinner meal prep mess.) The combination of taking down the wall and converting the entire kitchen to a "kitchen" has made the DR/Kitchen area look & feel much more spacious and both are much, much more functional! I'm not saying eliminate the island, what I'm saying is think about alternatives. As to the cooktop in the plan I did for you, it's on a wall segment approx 12" wider than the hood on each side with the rest of the area open to the Great Room. I show the counter going into the Great Room to the depth of the wall (it could be deeper if you wanted seating there). Is it difficult to vent from there? It depends on the direction your studs run. As to the comments about the "raised counter" in your plan, I agree wholeheartedly with them. Plus, a raised counter reduces the functionality of the peninsula area a bit b/c of the counter overhang into the kitchen (usually 1.5" to 2") and over the workspace that's counter-height. Having the peninsula all one height would give you another deep workspace for large projects such as baking, homework, science fair, gift wrapping, etc. with the added advantage of being able to sit at that counter while working (your current plan does not appear to have seating at the island). [Your most recent pic is much too small to see and I cannot access the pic to see if I can see an enlarged version. I recommend putting your pictures on a true photohosting site such as Photobucket, Picasa, Webshots, Flickr, etc. and putting them in a public folder so you can upload a bigger version and others can navigate to it w/o putting a huge picture inline here.]...See MoreHelp with the front of my house please
Comments (12)You're going to need to build a 6'-8' wood fence to enclose an area about 5' deep (need to be able to stand/walk beside unit) between the front entry and the driveway, with a gate on at least one end (or both) to access the utilities. http://www.gardenstructuredesign.com/landscape-design-products/utility-screening/utility-fence-panels/ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/529806343639037815/ https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9b/61/1c/9b611c2ba881493feb43e509f06963c8.jpg You could let the posts be visible from the road side of the fence and add solar lights atop each post as well as sturdy (elongated) metal brackets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EELT3M6?aaxitk=bOfdjceLGdKOeP1KdRV-8g to the side of each post near the top -- brackets to which you can add a hanging basket of flower plants and/or wind chimes or bird feeders and/or even bird houses -- or even seasonal decorations. Plant a low hedge in front of the fence. Then create your sidewalk from the front entry to the driveway in front of that -- perhaps creating a wider arc in the sidewalk so you can plant flower bulbs or other plants in front of your low hedge and even add a plain concrete bird bath. (Bowls of bird baths need to be narrower at the bottom and wider at the top to enable freezing water to expand w/o damaging the bird bath.) Otherwise, don't clutter up your yard with even more landscaping unless you actually like digging in the dirt....See MorePlease help landscape the front of my house....see pictures
Comments (6)OP, I'm glad to see you asked the landscape forum for help here on Houzz. There are quite a few posters in that sub-forum that are very knowledgeable and helpful. As to the house itself: my suggestions would include removal of the shutters on the large triple window on your right as you face the house. That window isn't designed for shutters at all. See this brief article for info: https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/ The other two items I see immediately is the style of your front door. It doesn't enhance your home at all. There are many front doors that would work, but the half moon door doesn't. If you get an appropriate door, paint it an accent color and get a storm door that is all glass with a small trim around that you can paint the same color as the door - or leave white. Consider beefing up your two front posts so they are more substantial looking. Widen your walkway to at least 4 ft wide and have the entry at the steps as wide as the steps. For the style of your front door, see below (door only) or a solid door. For color - consider a navy blue front door or something in the blue family. To me, the colors yellow and blue and green (landscape) are so welcoming....See Morewoodenzoo
4 years agowoodenzoo
4 years agowoodenzoo
4 years agonickel_kg
4 years agoUser
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoEmbothrium
4 years ago
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